Chinese Oxtail Soup
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins
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Total Time
2 hrs 40 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
594 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Chinese
Chinese Oxtail Soup
Description
This Chinese Oxtail Soup begins with roasting 2 pounds of oxtails to develop rich flavor and color, then simmering them with medium onion halves, sliced peeled ginger, garlic cloves, star anise, black and Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and dark soy sauce in 8 cups of water. The cooking time depends on method: 2 hours under high pressure in an Instant Pot or 6 hours slowly simmered on the stove. This slow cooking extracts gelatin and depth from the oxtails, creating a savory, unctuous broth.
After cooking, the meat is removed and cooled, and the broth strained through a fine mesh sieve to remove solids and excess fat, which can be skimmed off for clarity. The recipe allows for serving with rice, egg, or flour noodles according to preference. Sliced spring onions add fresh garnish. The rich broth has an aromatic complexity from star anise and peppercorns, balanced with savory soy notes.
Serving the soup hot with noodles and spring onions makes a comforting main dish, with optional additions like Asian greens or root vegetables to customize the texture and flavor. Substitutions include beef bones instead of oxtail or pork bones for a variation. The broth and cooked meat store well in the refrigerator up to about a week or freeze safely for 3+ months. Noodles are best freshly cooked when serving to maintain texture.
Ingredients
For the broth
- 2 lb oxtails
- 1 onion (medium sized, halved)
- 5 cm ginger (peeled & sliced)
- 4 garlic peeled, cloves
- 2 star anise
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Other ingredients
- noodles (rice, egg or flour noodles - you choose)
- 3 spring onions finely sliced
Instructions
To make the broth
- Preheat oven to 200ºC/395ºF
- Place the oxtails on a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes.
For Instant Pot
- Place the oxtails into the Instant Pot along with all the other broth ingredients. Pour over 8 cups of water. Attach the lid, set to high pressure cook for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, release the pressure and carefully remove the meat from the pan to cool.
For stove top
- Place the oxtails into a large casserole pan with all the other broth ingredients. Pour over 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low, so that the liquid is barely simmering. Simmer very gently, covered, for 6 hours.
- Carefully remove the meat from the pan and leave it to cool.
Finishing the soup
- Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the soup and discard the solids. If you have a lot of fat on top, you can skim this off with a spoon or use a gravy separator (these are marvellous). Keep the broth warm on a low heat.
- Once the meat has cooled enough to handle, pick apart the meat from the fat, bone and cartilage. Keep the meat, discard everything else. Set aside.
- Cook your noodles to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and place a small mound in the centre of an Asian soup bowl or deep soup bowl then pop on top a little meat.
- Add 4-5 ladles of piping hot broth per person and then sprinkle over some spring onion. That's it! Enjoy!
Notes
- Serve the soup hot, garnished with finely sliced spring onions for freshness.
- Add Asian greens such as bok choy or Chinese celery for additional texture and nutrients.
- Root vegetables like turnip and carrot can be cooked separately or in the broth until soft to enrich the soup.
- Rice, egg, or flour noodles can be used as preferred; prepare noodles fresh when serving to preserve texture.
- Substitute beef bones if oxtails are unavailable, or use pork bones/ribs for a pork variation.
- Store broth and meat in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze them separately for over three months.
- Avoid freezing noodles within the soup as their texture deteriorates; cook fresh noodles when serving.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 594 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 594kcal | 30% |
| Carbohydrates | 7g | 2% |
| Protein | 72g | 144% |
| Fat | 30g | 46% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Cholesterol | 249mg | 83% |
| Sodium | 1528mg | 64% |
| Potassium | 129mg | 3% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 103IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 5mg | 6% |
| Calcium | 78mg | 8% |
| Iron | 10mg | 56% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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